Sultan Ibragimov vs. Alfred Cole - Revision history

Artur128 at 12:41, 6 August 2023

2023-08-06T12:41:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:41, 6 August 2023
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	* At 1:46 of Round 3, referee [[Arthur Mercante Jr.]] waved an end to the bout as Cole was backed into a corner and absorbing punches without an offensive response.		* At 1:46 of Round 3, referee [[Arthur Mercante Jr.]] waved an end to the bout as Cole was backed into a corner and absorbing punches without an offensive response.
	* Sultan became only the fourth man, after [[Michael Grant]], [[Juan Carlos Gomez]] and [[Corrie Sanders]], to defeat Cole inside the distance, and only the second, after Sanders, to do so within three rounds.		* Sultan became only the fourth man, after [[Michael Grant]], [[Juan Carlos Gomez]] and [[Corrie Sanders]], to defeat Cole inside the distance, and only the second, after Sanders, to do so within three rounds.

	~~<big>'''IBRAGIMOV MELTS ICE IN THREE'''</big>~~

	~~<small>By Scott Shaffer, ''Boxing Talk'', March 3, 2005</small>~~

	Three heavyweight bouts resulted in three big knockouts in New York City on Thursday. Timor Ibragimov's single right hand against Ron Bellamy was the most violent, but Sultan Ibragimov's third-round stoppage of Al Cole was at least as impressive given that Cole, even in the terminal stages of his career, is far more skilled than Bellamy. Shannon Briggs' second round knockout of Demterice King was also entertaining. Earlier, ex-featherweight Kevin Kelley stopped Felix St. Kitts, although he had to work far too hard to do so. There were empty seats at the Theater in Madison Square Garden, but all things considered, promoter Sal Musumeci put on an entertaining and well-run show.

	Sultan Ibragimov doesn't possess a very imposing physique for a heavyweight, but Al Cole now knows not to judge this book by its cover. Cole couldn't last three rounds with Ibragimov, the 2000 Olympic silver medal winner. At yesterday's press conference, Cole promised a strong performance, saying that unlike his recent losses, he had sufficient time to prepare fro Ibragimov. However, after just one round of action, Cole went back to his corner shaking his head dejectedly, perhaps realizing he was in over his head. Less than two rounds later, the once-durable Cole found himself sitting on the canvas courtesy of an Ibragimov left. Still possessing the warrior's heart, Cole continued to fight. Ibragimov, however, was hitting him flush seemingly at will, and as Cole's nose started to bleed, referee Arthur Mercante, Jr. mercifully saved him from further punishment. Cole is now 3-10-2 in his last fifteen, and one has to wonder if New York Athletic Commissioner Ron Scott Stevens will put Cole on indefinite suspension just as he did to Evander Holyfield last year. As for Ibragimov, this was a very encouraging evening as he easily disposed of Cole, who although faded, was good enough to last ten rounds with Hasim Rahman a year ago. Sultan Ibragimov is now 15-0.

	Timor Ibragimov threw a single punch that put Ron Bellamy to sleep, knocking the North Carolina heavyweight unconscious for about three minutes. One look at Bellamy's record, 14-1-4 coming in, revealed that his winning record was greatly deceiving because he repeatedly piled up wins by beating a handful of the same unknown guys over and over while fighting below boxing's radar screen in the deep South. Bellamy suffered the first knockdown of the bout in the first round. After an uneventful second round, Ibragimov threw an overhand right in the third that slipped right through Bellamy's guard and instantly caused him to lose consciousness. Bellamy's head bounced off the canvas and referee Tony Chiarantano dispensed with the ten count in order to get medical aid to Bellamy as quickly as possible. Bellamy's neck was immobilized and he was carried out on a stretcher, barely moving except for some eye blinks. It was a scary sight, but one of the attending physicians thought Bellamy was in no immediate danger. A CT scan was ordered for tomorrow. With this devastating knockout, Ibragimov's record is now 17-0-1.

	Heavyweight Shannon Briggs almost always looks great against lesser competition, and Thursday night was no exception. Briggs, weighing a reasonable 258 pounds, knocked Demetrice King down in the second round with a right. Still a great finisher, Briggs swarmed all over King and landed four big punches to end the fight. The referee stepped in just as King, 7-6, sagged to the canvas again. Briggs improves to 41-4-1, and hopefully he will remain interested in the sport, because he looks to have some good fights left in him.

	Ex-featherweight champion Kevin Kelley returned from nearly two years of inactivity with an eighth-round technical knockout of Felix St. Kitts, who also hadn't fought in about two years. Kelley, who weighed 132 pounds, started slowly and picked it up only slightly over the next few rounds. St. Kitts was penalized for low blows in the fifth round, and Kelley hit a low point in the sixth round when St. Kitts pounded him against the ropes. Although he looked bad doing it, perhaps Kelley just took the sixth round off because he fared much better in the final two rounds. Kelley threw a hook that puffed up St. Kitts' eye, and then landed another punch later in the seventh that deposited St. Kitts on the canvas. In the eighth, Kelley froze St. Kitts in his tracks with another big punch, and followed up with a barrage of punches that led to a stoppage. Officially, the scorecards after seven rounds read 70-61, 69-62 and 68-63 all for Kelley. Boxingtalk thought it was a bit closer, 67-64. Kelly improves to 55-6-2 and will continue boxing. Still, struggling against a journeyman deep on the undercard at the Theater is a tremendous step down for Kelley, who headlined an electric night of boxing in Madison Square Garden's main arena in 1997 against Naseem Hamed.

	Former New York Golden Glove champion Jorge Teron turned pro with a first round technical knockout of Darrell Crenshaw, 1-3. The stoppage seemed a bit quick, but Teron, trained by Hector Roca, was too skilled for Crenshaw in any event. Roca, obviously enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame for training Hillary Duff for her role in the Academy award winning movie Million Dollar Baby, got a nice round of applause from the Garden crowd afterwards… Marcus Hicks played the spoiler role by coming in from Texas to knock out local junior middleweight Tim O'Neill in two. Hicks, 5-2-1, landed a right hand that badly hurt and floored O'Neill, 9-2-3. O'Neill gamely struggled to his feet just ahead of the ten count, but his legs wouldn't hold him up and the bout was over… Derrick Rossy improved to 4-0 with a second round stoppage of flabby Edgar Myers, 2-11… Eddie Mansey also won his pro debut, defeating Joe Howard by split decision. Mansey won the junior middleweight bout by scores of 40-36, 39-37 and 37-39. Julio Cardenas advanced to 7-0 with a second-round stoppage of John Seme, 3-8 in a lightweight bout.[http://boxingtalk.com/Ibragimov-melts-Ice-in-three]

Artur128 at 21:50, 5 August 2023

2023-08-05T21:50:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:50, 5 August 2023
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	* At 1:46 of Round 3, referee [[Arthur Mercante Jr.]] waved an end to the bout as Cole was backed into a corner and absorbing punches without an offensive response.		* At 1:46 of Round 3, referee [[Arthur Mercante Jr.]] waved an end to the bout as Cole was backed into a corner and absorbing punches without an offensive response.
	* Sultan became only the fourth man, after [[Michael Grant]], [[Juan Carlos Gomez]] and [[Corrie Sanders]], to defeat Cole inside the distance, and only the second, after Sanders, to do so within three rounds.		* Sultan became only the fourth man, after [[Michael Grant]], [[Juan Carlos Gomez]] and [[Corrie Sanders]], to defeat Cole inside the distance, and only the second, after Sanders, to do so within three rounds.

			<big>'''IBRAGIMOV MELTS ICE IN THREE'''</big>

			<small>By Scott Shaffer, ''Boxing Talk'', March 3, 2005</small>

			Three heavyweight bouts resulted in three big knockouts in New York City on Thursday. Timor Ibragimov's single right hand against Ron Bellamy was the most violent, but Sultan Ibragimov's third-round stoppage of Al Cole was at least as impressive given that Cole, even in the terminal stages of his career, is far more skilled than Bellamy. Shannon Briggs' second round knockout of Demterice King was also entertaining. Earlier, ex-featherweight Kevin Kelley stopped Felix St. Kitts, although he had to work far too hard to do so. There were empty seats at the Theater in Madison Square Garden, but all things considered, promoter Sal Musumeci put on an entertaining and well-run show.

			Sultan Ibragimov doesn't possess a very imposing physique for a heavyweight, but Al Cole now knows not to judge this book by its cover. Cole couldn't last three rounds with Ibragimov, the 2000 Olympic silver medal winner. At yesterday's press conference, Cole promised a strong performance, saying that unlike his recent losses, he had sufficient time to prepare fro Ibragimov. However, after just one round of action, Cole went back to his corner shaking his head dejectedly, perhaps realizing he was in over his head. Less than two rounds later, the once-durable Cole found himself sitting on the canvas courtesy of an Ibragimov left. Still possessing the warrior's heart, Cole continued to fight. Ibragimov, however, was hitting him flush seemingly at will, and as Cole's nose started to bleed, referee Arthur Mercante, Jr. mercifully saved him from further punishment. Cole is now 3-10-2 in his last fifteen, and one has to wonder if New York Athletic Commissioner Ron Scott Stevens will put Cole on indefinite suspension just as he did to Evander Holyfield last year. As for Ibragimov, this was a very encouraging evening as he easily disposed of Cole, who although faded, was good enough to last ten rounds with Hasim Rahman a year ago. Sultan Ibragimov is now 15-0.

			Timor Ibragimov threw a single punch that put Ron Bellamy to sleep, knocking the North Carolina heavyweight unconscious for about three minutes. One look at Bellamy's record, 14-1-4 coming in, revealed that his winning record was greatly deceiving because he repeatedly piled up wins by beating a handful of the same unknown guys over and over while fighting below boxing's radar screen in the deep South. Bellamy suffered the first knockdown of the bout in the first round. After an uneventful second round, Ibragimov threw an overhand right in the third that slipped right through Bellamy's guard and instantly caused him to lose consciousness. Bellamy's head bounced off the canvas and referee Tony Chiarantano dispensed with the ten count in order to get medical aid to Bellamy as quickly as possible. Bellamy's neck was immobilized and he was carried out on a stretcher, barely moving except for some eye blinks. It was a scary sight, but one of the attending physicians thought Bellamy was in no immediate danger. A CT scan was ordered for tomorrow. With this devastating knockout, Ibragimov's record is now 17-0-1.

			Heavyweight Shannon Briggs almost always looks great against lesser competition, and Thursday night was no exception. Briggs, weighing a reasonable 258 pounds, knocked Demetrice King down in the second round with a right. Still a great finisher, Briggs swarmed all over King and landed four big punches to end the fight. The referee stepped in just as King, 7-6, sagged to the canvas again. Briggs improves to 41-4-1, and hopefully he will remain interested in the sport, because he looks to have some good fights left in him.

			Ex-featherweight champion Kevin Kelley returned from nearly two years of inactivity with an eighth-round technical knockout of Felix St. Kitts, who also hadn't fought in about two years. Kelley, who weighed 132 pounds, started slowly and picked it up only slightly over the next few rounds. St. Kitts was penalized for low blows in the fifth round, and Kelley hit a low point in the sixth round when St. Kitts pounded him against the ropes. Although he looked bad doing it, perhaps Kelley just took the sixth round off because he fared much better in the final two rounds. Kelley threw a hook that puffed up St. Kitts' eye, and then landed another punch later in the seventh that deposited St. Kitts on the canvas. In the eighth, Kelley froze St. Kitts in his tracks with another big punch, and followed up with a barrage of punches that led to a stoppage. Officially, the scorecards after seven rounds read 70-61, 69-62 and 68-63 all for Kelley. Boxingtalk thought it was a bit closer, 67-64. Kelly improves to 55-6-2 and will continue boxing. Still, struggling against a journeyman deep on the undercard at the Theater is a tremendous step down for Kelley, who headlined an electric night of boxing in Madison Square Garden's main arena in 1997 against Naseem Hamed.

			Former New York Golden Glove champion Jorge Teron turned pro with a first round technical knockout of Darrell Crenshaw, 1-3. The stoppage seemed a bit quick, but Teron, trained by Hector Roca, was too skilled for Crenshaw in any event. Roca, obviously enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame for training Hillary Duff for her role in the Academy award winning movie Million Dollar Baby, got a nice round of applause from the Garden crowd afterwards… Marcus Hicks played the spoiler role by coming in from Texas to knock out local junior middleweight Tim O'Neill in two. Hicks, 5-2-1, landed a right hand that badly hurt and floored O'Neill, 9-2-3. O'Neill gamely struggled to his feet just ahead of the ten count, but his legs wouldn't hold him up and the bout was over… Derrick Rossy improved to 4-0 with a second round stoppage of flabby Edgar Myers, 2-11… Eddie Mansey also won his pro debut, defeating Joe Howard by split decision. Mansey won the junior middleweight bout by scores of 40-36, 39-37 and 37-39. Julio Cardenas advanced to 7-0 with a second-round stoppage of John Seme, 3-8 in a lightweight bout.[http://boxingtalk.com/Ibragimov-melts-Ice-in-three]

Artur128 at 10:01, 5 August 2023

2023-08-05T10:01:58Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:01, 5 August 2023
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	* At 1:46 of Round 3, referee [[Arthur Mercante Jr.]] waved an end to the bout as Cole was backed into a corner and absorbing punches without an offensive response.		* At 1:46 of Round 3, referee [[Arthur Mercante Jr.]] waved an end to the bout as Cole was backed into a corner and absorbing punches without an offensive response.
	* Sultan became only the fourth man, after [[Michael Grant]], [[Juan Carlos Gomez]] and [[Corrie Sanders]], to defeat Cole inside the distance, and only the second, after Sanders, to do so within three rounds.		* Sultan became only the fourth man, after [[Michael Grant]], [[Juan Carlos Gomez]] and [[Corrie Sanders]], to defeat Cole inside the distance, and only the second, after Sanders, to do so within three rounds.

	~~<big>'''Sultan's Left Hook'''</big>~~

	~~<small>By ''Chernovik'', March 11, 2005</small>~~

	Al Cole became another Ibragimov's victim. On the night from Thursday to Friday, the Dagestani heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov in the famous Madison Square Garden in front of several thousand spectators won his 15th consecutive victory in the professional ring. His fight against the American Al Cole was over 1 minute 46 seconds after the start of the third round.

	The beginning of this month turned out to be rich on events in the world of professional boxing for Dagestani fans. The main participants of the boxing scene for us today - the silver medalist of the Sydney Olympics (2000) Sultan Ibragimov and his namesake Timur Ibragimov, representing Uzbekistan, did not fail to give us fights of their own this time of the year. True fans are, of course, interested in all the fights that took place that evening as part of a boxing show. Because it is always an occasion for analysis and all kinds of "deep thinking". It is this, in our opinion, that separates an appreciator of this wonderful sport from a fan of this or that boxer, who sometimes recklessly raises his idol to heaven and is able to suddenly overthrow him from there in the next moment. Someone who is building heavently castles and blaspheming opinions of others to the point of losing his voice. But still...

	What did we know about Cole? Good stamina, not a glass chin by any means. Former cruiser, which can be regarded as a con, assuming not too lethal artillery in the arsenal. Moving up to the heavyweight division, he got a considerable number of very prominent boxers on his list of opponents. However, his record against them was more than modest. Of the victories, perhaps, the only two results that can be regarded as notable are a draw against Jeremy Williams and a win over then-unbeaten, tough but average boxer Vincent Maddalone, who got the attention of the public thanks to his battle against Brian Minto on the undercard of the Maskaev-Defiagbon fight. The last time he entered the ring was almost exactly a year ago, he lost by a disputed decision to Hasim Rahman, who had not won a fight for three years. Yes, by the way, Cole is being trained by Alton Merkerson, Roy Jones's longtime coach.

	What did we know about Ibragimov? We knew everything about Ibragimov. And the main thing is that today Ibragimov is a threat to everything that exists. Not an inevitable one, but always a potential one. His strike is capable of bringing down any champion. And only the task of delivering this terrible power to the "consumer" becomes a question before each of his fights.

	Rather meager information about Sultan's opponent made it impossible to realistically assess the chances of both sides, which added a little uneasiness, but only a little. It would be naive to believe that Sultan would not find a way to deliver his more than weighty arguments to his opponent. And he found. It wasn't meant for Cole to hear the final gong. After a left hook to the body followed by an uppercut, the American got up before the end of the count, but the resumed fight took on a one-sided manner, and the referee stopped the fight 1 minute and 46 seconds after the start of the third round.

	~~Overall, both fighters showed what was expected of them. And Sultan, I think, fulfilled the game plan by 100%, dropping his opponent to the floor already in the third round.~~

	It looks like our heavyweight is eager to answer way too many questions for long enough to dwell on a fighter like Al Cole. Ibragimov is consistent, which, of course, cannot but rejoice. And as this fight showed, he is growing in skill, which is noted even by the foreign media. They even say that Don King, who is only interested in fighters that have really outstanding talent, got his attention. He maybe thinks this guy will make a statement one day. It's hard not to notice someone like him...

	~~<big>'''Sultan Ibragimov Defeated A Legend'''</big>~~

	~~<small>By Alexei Dospekhov, ''Kommersant'', March 5, 2005</small>~~

	On Thursday, in one of the most prestigious arenas in the world - New York's Madison Square Garden - a boxing show was held with the main event being a fight between Russian heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov and notable American Al Cole. Ibragimov knocked out his opponent already in the third round, proving that he is rightfully among candidates for participation in championship fights.

	Only a lowly-regarded WBO Asia-Pacific title was at stake. However, the significance of the fight was great - at least for Sultan Ibragimov. In 2000, he became the silver medalist of the Sydney Olympics, losing in the final to the legendary Cuban Felix Savon, and a couple of years later he began his professional career, which is still going strong so far. Until Thursday of this week, he had fought 14 fights and won all of them, which allowed him to achieve some recognition. American observers have already noted that the Russian is technical and has power. A highly-regarded specialist Panama Lewis, who had previously worked with Roberto Duran, Frans Botha, Arturo Gatti, agreed to train him. Representatives of the most authoritative promoter in the world, Don King, attended one of Sultan Ibragimov's fights.

	~~But for full recognition, Sultan lacked a fight that would be truly noticeable and interesting for America. And so he got it.~~

	The fight could not be without attention, because it took place at Madison Square Garden, and most importantly, because the Russian's opponent was a notable Al Cole. In the early 90s, he held a world cruiserweight title and was considered one of the best fighters on the planet. Then he moved to another category and there he wasn't that bad either. Al, however, is already 40 years old, but last year he proved that age is not a factor for him: he fought an almost even fight with Hasim Rahman himself.

	Sultan Ibragimov definitely did not waste his chance. Everyone was waiting for a protracted fight, but already in the third round the Russian carried out a combination of a left hook and an uppercut. Cole collapsed to the floor, got up, but was immediately met with another attack from the opponent, and referee Arthur Mercant stopped the fight.

	Now Sultan Ibragimov should expect fights with much more serious titles at stake. At least last year WBO Vice President Luis Perez said that in the near future he would be ready to give the Russian an actual world championship bout.

Artur128: /* Notes */

2023-07-13T14:49:06Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:49, 13 July 2023
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	== Notes ==		== Notes ==

	* Cole down at :55 of Round 3 from a [[left hook]] as he was against the ropes. ~~He did make it to is feet and received a [[standing eight-count]]~~.		* Cole down at :55 of Round 3 from a [[left hook]] as he was against the ropes. This was only the second knockdown of Cole's professional career.
	* At 1:46 of Round 3, referee [[Arthur Mercante Jr.]] waved an end to the bout as Cole was backed into a corner and absorbing punches without an offensive response.		* At 1:46 of Round 3, referee [[Arthur Mercante Jr.]] waved an end to the bout as Cole was backed into a corner and absorbing punches without an offensive response.
	* Sultan became only the fourth man, after [[Michael Grant]], [[Juan Carlos Gomez]] and [[Corrie Sanders]], to defeat Cole inside the distance, and only the second, after Sanders, to do so within three rounds.		* Sultan became only the fourth man, after [[Michael Grant]], [[Juan Carlos Gomez]] and [[Corrie Sanders]], to defeat Cole inside the distance, and only the second, after Sanders, to do so within three rounds.

Artur128: /* Notes */

2023-07-01T19:39:57Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:39, 1 July 2023
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	* Cole down at :55 of Round 3 from a [[left hook]] as he was against the ropes. He did make it to is feet and received a [[standing eight-count]].		* Cole down at :55 of Round 3 from a [[left hook]] as he was against the ropes. He did make it to is feet and received a [[standing eight-count]].
	* At 1:46 of Round 3, referee [[Arthur Mercante Jr.]] waved an end to the bout as Cole was backed into a corner and absorbing punches without an offensive response.		* At 1:46 of Round 3, referee [[Arthur Mercante Jr.]] waved an end to the bout as Cole was backed into a corner and absorbing punches without an offensive response.
			* Sultan became only the fourth man, after [[Michael Grant]], [[Juan Carlos Gomez]] and [[Corrie Sanders]], to defeat Cole inside the distance, and only the second, after Sanders, to do so within three rounds.

	<big>'''Sultan's Left Hook'''</big>		<big>'''Sultan's Left Hook'''</big>

Artur128: /* Notes */

2023-06-03T20:47:44Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:47, 3 June 2023
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	<small>By Alexei Dospekhov, ''Kommersant'', March 5, 2005</small>		<small>By Alexei Dospekhov, ''Kommersant'', March 5, 2005</small>

	On Thursday, in one of the most prestigious arenas in the world - New York's Madison Square Garden - a boxing show was held with the main event being a fight between Russian heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov and ~~a famous~~ American Al Cole. Ibragimov knocked out his opponent already in the third round, proving that he is rightfully among candidates for participation in championship fights.		On Thursday, in one of the most prestigious arenas in the world - New York's Madison Square Garden - a boxing show was held with the main event being a fight between Russian heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov and notable American Al Cole. Ibragimov knocked out his opponent already in the third round, proving that he is rightfully among candidates for participation in championship fights.

	Only a lowly-regarded WBO Asia-Pacific title was at stake. However, the significance of the fight was great - at least for Sultan Ibragimov. In 2000, he became the silver medalist of the Sydney Olympics, losing in the final to the legendary Cuban Felix Savon, and a couple of years later he began his professional career, which is still going strong so far. Until Thursday of this week, he had fought 14 fights and won all of them, which allowed him to achieve some recognition. American observers have already noted that the Russian is technical and has power. A highly-regarded specialist Panama Lewis, who had previously worked with Roberto Duran, Frans Botha, Arturo Gatti, agreed to train him. Representatives of the most authoritative promoter in the world, Don King, attended one of Sultan Ibragimov's fights.		Only a lowly-regarded WBO Asia-Pacific title was at stake. However, the significance of the fight was great - at least for Sultan Ibragimov. In 2000, he became the silver medalist of the Sydney Olympics, losing in the final to the legendary Cuban Felix Savon, and a couple of years later he began his professional career, which is still going strong so far. Until Thursday of this week, he had fought 14 fights and won all of them, which allowed him to achieve some recognition. American observers have already noted that the Russian is technical and has power. A highly-regarded specialist Panama Lewis, who had previously worked with Roberto Duran, Frans Botha, Arturo Gatti, agreed to train him. Representatives of the most authoritative promoter in the world, Don King, attended one of Sultan Ibragimov's fights.

Artur128: /* Notes */

2023-06-03T20:45:17Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:45, 3 June 2023
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	Sultan Ibragimov definitely did not waste his chance. Everyone was waiting for a protracted fight, but already in the third round the Russian carried out a combination of a left hook and an uppercut. Cole collapsed to the floor, got up, but was immediately met with another attack from the opponent, and referee Arthur Mercant stopped the fight.		Sultan Ibragimov definitely did not waste his chance. Everyone was waiting for a protracted fight, but already in the third round the Russian carried out a combination of a left hook and an uppercut. Cole collapsed to the floor, got up, but was immediately met with another attack from the opponent, and referee Arthur Mercant stopped the fight.

	Now Sultan Ibragimov should expect fights with much more serious titles at stake. At least last year WBO Vice President Luis Perez said that in the near future he would be ready to give the Russian a world championship bout.		Now Sultan Ibragimov should expect fights with much more serious titles at stake. At least last year WBO Vice President Luis Perez said that in the near future he would be ready to give the Russian an actual world championship bout.

Artur128: /* Notes */

2023-06-03T20:45:01Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:45, 3 June 2023
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	It looks like our heavyweight is eager to answer way too many questions for long enough to dwell on a fighter like Al Cole. Ibragimov is consistent, which, of course, cannot but rejoice. And as this fight showed, he is growing in skill, which is noted even by the foreign media. They even say that Don King, who is only interested in fighters that have really outstanding talent, got his attention. He maybe thinks this guy will make a statement one day. It's hard not to notice someone like him...		It looks like our heavyweight is eager to answer way too many questions for long enough to dwell on a fighter like Al Cole. Ibragimov is consistent, which, of course, cannot but rejoice. And as this fight showed, he is growing in skill, which is noted even by the foreign media. They even say that Don King, who is only interested in fighters that have really outstanding talent, got his attention. He maybe thinks this guy will make a statement one day. It's hard not to notice someone like him...

			<big>'''Sultan Ibragimov Defeated A Legend'''</big>

			<small>By Alexei Dospekhov, ''Kommersant'', March 5, 2005</small>

			On Thursday, in one of the most prestigious arenas in the world - New York's Madison Square Garden - a boxing show was held with the main event being a fight between Russian heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov and a famous American Al Cole. Ibragimov knocked out his opponent already in the third round, proving that he is rightfully among candidates for participation in championship fights.

			Only a lowly-regarded WBO Asia-Pacific title was at stake. However, the significance of the fight was great - at least for Sultan Ibragimov. In 2000, he became the silver medalist of the Sydney Olympics, losing in the final to the legendary Cuban Felix Savon, and a couple of years later he began his professional career, which is still going strong so far. Until Thursday of this week, he had fought 14 fights and won all of them, which allowed him to achieve some recognition. American observers have already noted that the Russian is technical and has power. A highly-regarded specialist Panama Lewis, who had previously worked with Roberto Duran, Frans Botha, Arturo Gatti, agreed to train him. Representatives of the most authoritative promoter in the world, Don King, attended one of Sultan Ibragimov's fights.

			But for full recognition, Sultan lacked a fight that would be truly noticeable and interesting for America. And so he got it.

			The fight could not be without attention, because it took place at Madison Square Garden, and most importantly, because the Russian's opponent was a notable Al Cole. In the early 90s, he held a world cruiserweight title and was considered one of the best fighters on the planet. Then he moved to another category and there he wasn't that bad either. Al, however, is already 40 years old, but last year he proved that age is not a factor for him: he fought an almost even fight with Hasim Rahman himself.

			Sultan Ibragimov definitely did not waste his chance. Everyone was waiting for a protracted fight, but already in the third round the Russian carried out a combination of a left hook and an uppercut. Cole collapsed to the floor, got up, but was immediately met with another attack from the opponent, and referee Arthur Mercant stopped the fight.

			Now Sultan Ibragimov should expect fights with much more serious titles at stake. At least last year WBO Vice President Luis Perez said that in the near future he would be ready to give the Russian a world championship bout.

Artur128: /* Notes */

2023-06-02T18:43:43Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:43, 2 June 2023
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	What did we know about Ibragimov? We knew everything about Ibragimov. And the main thing is that today Ibragimov is a threat to everything that exists. Not an inevitable one, but always a potential one. His strike is capable of bringing down any champion. And only the task of delivering this terrible power to the "consumer" becomes a question before each of his fights.		What did we know about Ibragimov? We knew everything about Ibragimov. And the main thing is that today Ibragimov is a threat to everything that exists. Not an inevitable one, but always a potential one. His strike is capable of bringing down any champion. And only the task of delivering this terrible power to the "consumer" becomes a question before each of his fights.

	Rather meager information about Sultan's opponent made it impossible to realistically assess the chances of both sides, which added a little uneasiness, but only a little. It would be naive to believe that Sultan would not find a way to deliver his more than weighty arguments to his opponent. And he found. It wasn't meant for Cole to ~~get to~~ the final gong. After a left hook to the body followed by an uppercut, the American got up before the end of the count, but the resumed fight took on a one-sided manner, and the referee stopped the fight 1 minute and 46 seconds after the start of the third round.		Rather meager information about Sultan's opponent made it impossible to realistically assess the chances of both sides, which added a little uneasiness, but only a little. It would be naive to believe that Sultan would not find a way to deliver his more than weighty arguments to his opponent. And he found. It wasn't meant for Cole to hear the final gong. After a left hook to the body followed by an uppercut, the American got up before the end of the count, but the resumed fight took on a one-sided manner, and the referee stopped the fight 1 minute and 46 seconds after the start of the third round.

	Overall, both fighters showed what was expected of them. And Sultan, I think, fulfilled the game plan by 100%, dropping his opponent to the floor already in the third round.		Overall, both fighters showed what was expected of them. And Sultan, I think, fulfilled the game plan by 100%, dropping his opponent to the floor already in the third round.

	It looks like our heavyweight is eager to answer way too many questions for long enough to dwell on a fighter like Al Cole. Ibragimov is consistent, which, of course, cannot but rejoice. And as this fight showed, he is growing in skill, which is noted even by the foreign media. They even say that Don King, who is only interested in fighters that have really outstanding talent, got his attention. He maybe thinks this guy will make a statement one day. It's hard not to notice someone like him...		It looks like our heavyweight is eager to answer way too many questions for long enough to dwell on a fighter like Al Cole. Ibragimov is consistent, which, of course, cannot but rejoice. And as this fight showed, he is growing in skill, which is noted even by the foreign media. They even say that Don King, who is only interested in fighters that have really outstanding talent, got his attention. He maybe thinks this guy will make a statement one day. It's hard not to notice someone like him...

Artur128: /* Notes */

2023-06-02T18:43:23Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:43, 2 June 2023
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	What did we know about Ibragimov? We knew everything about Ibragimov. And the main thing is that today Ibragimov is a threat to everything that exists. Not an inevitable one, but always a potential one. His strike is capable of bringing down any champion. And only the task of delivering this terrible power to the "consumer" becomes a question before each of his fights.		What did we know about Ibragimov? We knew everything about Ibragimov. And the main thing is that today Ibragimov is a threat to everything that exists. Not an inevitable one, but always a potential one. His strike is capable of bringing down any champion. And only the task of delivering this terrible power to the "consumer" becomes a question before each of his fights.

	Rather meager information about ~~the~~ Sultan's opponent made it impossible to realistically assess the chances of both sides, which added a little uneasiness, but only a little. It would be naive to believe that Sultan would not find a way to deliver his more than weighty arguments to his opponent. And he found. It wasn't meant for Cole to get to the final gong. After a left hook to the body followed by an uppercut, the American got up before the end of the count, but the resumed fight took on a one-sided manner, and the referee stopped the fight 1 minute and 46 seconds after the start of the third round.		Rather meager information about Sultan's opponent made it impossible to realistically assess the chances of both sides, which added a little uneasiness, but only a little. It would be naive to believe that Sultan would not find a way to deliver his more than weighty arguments to his opponent. And he found. It wasn't meant for Cole to get to the final gong. After a left hook to the body followed by an uppercut, the American got up before the end of the count, but the resumed fight took on a one-sided manner, and the referee stopped the fight 1 minute and 46 seconds after the start of the third round.

	Overall, both fighters showed what was expected of them. And Sultan, I think, fulfilled the game plan by 100%, dropping his opponent to the floor already in the third round.		Overall, both fighters showed what was expected of them. And Sultan, I think, fulfilled the game plan by 100%, dropping his opponent to the floor already in the third round.

	It looks like our heavyweight is eager to answer way too many questions for long enough to dwell on a fighter like Al Cole. Ibragimov is consistent, which, of course, cannot but rejoice. And as this fight showed, he is growing in skill, which is noted even by the foreign media. They even say that Don King, who is only interested in fighters that have really outstanding talent, got his attention. He maybe thinks this guy will make a statement one day. It's hard not to notice someone like him...		It looks like our heavyweight is eager to answer way too many questions for long enough to dwell on a fighter like Al Cole. Ibragimov is consistent, which, of course, cannot but rejoice. And as this fight showed, he is growing in skill, which is noted even by the foreign media. They even say that Don King, who is only interested in fighters that have really outstanding talent, got his attention. He maybe thinks this guy will make a statement one day. It's hard not to notice someone like him...